Make it Yourself Monday- Holiday Decorations

Yes the air-conditioner may still be in use, but VERY soon, long before you think it should happen, well before you know it, the holiday season will be here. So now is the time to begin preparing, the time for making decorations, and the time to begin making your gifts. think about it, the more that you accomplish now, the less stressed and the more enjoyable your holidays will be! So today's Make it Yourself project is a very easy, yet very cute decoration. This one is so cute. Make several, some to keep for decorations and some to give as gifts!

You will need-
(plastic) ice cubes
paint (black, orange)
artificial snow
glue
*optional components; remnant material for scarf, felt for hat, iridescent and/or textured snow, pipe cleaner, pom poms, and wood or cardboard for a base.

Glue three ice cubes together, either in graduating sizes or if they are all the same size, as mine are, just off-set them a bit for added interest. Leave sit until the glue is completely dry. Once dry, paint a face on your snowman and decorate with a hat and/or scarf. I like to glue some snowmen to wood or cardboard bases. Just paint the wood or cardboard and then cover it in the type of snow that you paint on. I prefer the type that is textured, as it looks more real, but the iridescent kind (that comes in a tube, similar to icing gel) is also pretty neat. These are so quick and easy to make you can easily do some of each! Just let your imagination take you to a winter wonderland, and have fun!

To make ear muffs, cut a portion of pipe cleaner and glue small pom poms to each end. Bend over the top ice cube and glue in place. To make a hat (you can buy these already made in your local craft store), cut red felt, fold in cone shape and glue edges in place. Cut a strip of white and glue to bottom edge, then glue a small pom pom to the pointed end. Once dry, glue hat to corner of top ice cube.

What;s Happening Wednesday-Shop til Ya Drop

We are happily at Wednesday again, another Shop til ya Drop day! And only eleven days until Christmas, which means only ten more shopping days! So are you stuck? Is there that one person that you still cannot find a gift for? Well how about putting together a gift pack so that they can make their own special something? I did this last year for my Grandson's Mother by purchasing her some cute, special paper, acid free glue sticks, and lots of embellishments. Put it all in a nice gift box, add a scrap book, and there you have an unique gift! Of course, you can always include a few pages that you make so that they will get a jump start on their album. They will always remember you starting them off on their new hobby, and when all is said and done, this type of gift keeps on giving for many years to come!

So now that you have the perfect gift in mind, where do you get find special items, just as special as your gift? At the Etsy shop,
Moment in Time, that's where!  You will find all sorts of pretty and unique papers,  embellishments, and fabrics at this Canadian shop. With almost a thousand sales, this shop has been open since 2007, and on my favorite list almost as long!

Tripod Thursday-Hand painted ornaments for Gift Giving

As promised on Tuesday, some of today's photographs are of ornaments that I am making for presents. Actually they aren't quite finished yet, but they are close enough to give you a very good idea of how they will be when completed. More importantly, I hope that they inspire you to go out and get some to begin making gifts of your own. Let your imagination be your guide! Glittrer, beads, feathers, get busy and create away! As for mine, each one always gets the recipients name and the current year placed on it somewhere. Some will get a cute saying, and some may get some additional small items painted into the scene, small finishing touches so to speak. And of course, I always glue the hangers onto the glass bulbs so that there is less of a chance that they will be dropped and broken when someone picks them up by their tops, and they always do! Remember that each one of these ornaments was blank/plain when it was purchased. I have painted on all of them, decopaged on some, and used puff paints on others. It really is amazing what a little paint can do! The rest of the items were made this season too, but these are the latest sale items. I hope you enjoy the pictures, and if would like to share some of your projects, just email me one or two, along with the details. Depending upon the number of submissions, I will post your projects in an upcoming week! 

Teaching Tuesday-Gifts/Ornaments

With Christmas around the corner you may be trying to figure out just how you can stretch your dollars, while purchasing treasured gifts for the season. While I am not an extreme couponer by any means, I certainly do qualify as a "value" shopper. I search for great deals, and almost always make purchases when items are on sale. This means that I usually have a Christmas gift box going in the summer, and that I buy winter clothes in the summer and summer clothes in the winter. 


One tradition that I began when my first Son was born, was to purchase an ornament that had something to do with his life that year. Of course I did the same for my second Son as well. Each year, each child was tasked with hanging their ornaments on the tree, and when they set up their own household all of their ornaments were gifted to them. This way they didn't have to worry about purchasing a ton of decorations that first year, and of course they had a pleasant reminder of their childhood too. Not to mention that they had hours of story telling material, explaining the reasoning behind each ornament. Their ornaments continue to bring joy to my Sons, and now I have begun the tradition with my first grandchild. Long after I am gone, these small memory markers will be a part of our family. I am so happy that I began this little tradition!  


One year my money was pretty tight, yet I had a few co-workers that I really wanted to give a little something to. I was becoming very frustrated in the gift search, when I began unpacking the decorations box, and came across the kid's ornaments. Then it finally hit me. Ornaments are not that expensive, yet they are pretty, bring joy, and are an annual reminder of the giver. From that year on, money or none, to the delight of my friends, I have given the gift of ornaments. So, if you are looking for a memorable, yet inexpensive gift, try an ornament. Of course ornaments have gone up in pricing over the years, but if you want to make it really special, why not try making it yourself? Not only does this keep the cost down,  but it really can be quite easy.  


Aside from these clay ornaments, you can purchase plain glass ornaments at your local hobby store, or even the dollar store. You can paint those, mod podge a picture on it, glue beads or jewels on it, fill the inside with snow, glue leaves and berries on the outside, or even put decorations down inside the bulbs. You can paint scenes on the outside of the bulb or just write a name and the year on them in puff paint. 


Not into the glass? Check your local hobby store for cardboard ornament forms. They have them in all shapes and sizes, ovals, square boxes, and different buildings. They come plain, and you just have to paint and decorate them. Or, in the same vain, you can find various ceramic shapes, from mini plates to snowmen. Again, you just need to decorate them however you want. The possibilities are endless, and only limited by your imagination!


These projects are very easy on your pocketbook, and at the same time, it will mean a lot that you took the time to create the perfect gift. Want to make it extra special? While you are at the hobby shop, pick out a cardboard gift box and decorate that box (try purchasing some holiday scrap book paper and use mod podge to decopodge the box. Then place your ornaments inside the box, tag it  and wrap a bow on it, and whalla, the perfect gift, wrapped perfectly, and ready for after holiday storage!) 


This was from a box of blue bulbs I purchased on sale after Christmas one year. I glued crystal gems on it and used the sparkling silver puff paints to paint decorations on it. 

This has "iced" branches stuck inside it. It is really beautiful in person, and this simple decoration has received many compliments!

This one has the shiny package wrap stiffed in it, along with candy. Then the outside has "Tis the season for candy" written on the outside

This was a wood cut out that I just painted and decorated.

This is a decorated gift box, filled with ornaments. the piece of wood on the left with the door on it, signified that Son's first non-college home of his own. Then the rest were all some type of snow flake. there were beaded ones, wood ones, crystal ones, and glass. Oh, and yes, the box was decopodged! 

Fake snow, berries, and pine branches make this bulb unique

bejeweled and glittered, make any ornament sparkle and shine! 

Make it Yourself Monday- Breakfast Casserole

With Thanksgiving and Christmas around the corner, my thoughts tend to run toward food. Food, food, glorious food. Can you tell I like food? Lol I also like 
e-a-s-y! So for today's make it yourself project, I am going to share a great breakfast casserole with you, one that I make every Christmas eve day and bake every Christmas morning. While the kids open packages, this is in the oven baking, and by the time they are finished, so is it! Tasty and easy, the perfect combination! 


You will need;
6 slices of stale bread
8 eggs
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried mustard
1 squirt spicy brown mustard
1 1/2 pounds cooked and drained sausage
8 ounces grated cheddar cheese
2 ounces shredded jack cheese


Dry your bread out ahead of time, or place in low oven until dried. Spray a 9x13 casserole pan and lay the bread in the bottom of the pan. Then layer in the cheeses and the sausage. 
In a bowl, mix together the eggs, mustard, salt and milk. When mixed well, pour over the sausage and bread. Cover and place in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, cook covered at 325 for an hour, or until slightly brown on the top.


Add a fruit salad, some coffee and juice, and you have the perfect breakfast to get any holiday off to a great start.  An easy way to serve a crowd, without a lot of hard or time consuming work. trust me, try it, you like it! 

Tripod Thursday- Holidays on the way

wine charm w/ Swarovski crystals, amethyst & pink quartz

amber and carnelian

 turquoise, sterling silver and red coral 

serving tray

gift box

While most of these are for the Christmas at the cabin, or have been for there last year, the bouquet was one that I made for my Daughter in law's and Son's wedding, and the prayer shawl was a gift to my Mother last year, although I am planning on making one to sell.

What's Happening Wednesday

Wednesday, hump day, so I have decided to dedicate Wednesdays to whatever is happening. This will not always be work related, rather, whatever I happen to be up to that day.

Today, as part of my new years' goals mandate, I have been working on organizing and executing my work, in particularly for my on-line shops. To that end, I finished a new pair of earrings the other day, as well as a pre-designed, mini scrapbook. I had not, however, taken the pictures to list them yet. Since both of these items need to go into my uniqueXpression shop, they would never make it there if I didn't get down to business and get those pictures. Soooooo, as of this posting, I have 3/4 of my task completed! The pictures are all taken (of course I allowed myself to get side-tracked and uploaded several holiday pictures and organized some folders) and I have completed the listing for the scrapbook, but the earrings listing is now pushed to the top of my Thursday to do list. I am so out of practice (and maybe a bit unfocused), it seemed to take me most of the day just to complete these few things, lol! Oh well, practice should make perfect, and I expect that I will soon be cranking out the on-line work again, I have confidence....deserved or not, I guess we will soon see!

Since the pictures are all done, even though they are not yet listed, I will share them with you.

These are 19g, sterling silver w/ ball, shepherds hooks, with a Swarovski crystal-studded chandelier. They have champaign and clear crystals and are about a 1 1/2" drop. They are quite lovely, and can be easily incorporated into a more dressy outfit or just used to dress up a casual look.

This is the front of the 8"x8", pre-designed scrap book that I did. The front has a picture frame, and it contains 24 more pages for pictures (for a minimum of 25 pictures, although the framework is set for additional ones). I made each page background either a winter or a Christmas theme, so it will be perfect for anyone who just wants to paste down their holiday and winter pictures and be done with it! Hmmm, maybe I should keep this! LOL Here are some more views of the earrings, as well as all of the individual page pictures of the scrapbook. I hope you enjoy them!

So what have you been up to this Wednesday? Comment and share, maybe you will inspire us all!

What You Up To Wednesday

How many Days til When?

With fall officially here, leaves beginning to turn and the outdoor festivals quickly coming to the seasons end, clothing and minds begin to focus on winters arrival, and the Christmas countdown begins. Of course, for some, it began in ernest the day after Christmas past, but for most it will come with the force-feeding of the retail merchants who begin banging the seasons and holidays into our faces a good three months before the impending date. Hence we have come to expect school clothing trends to be shown in June, Halloween in August and Christmas in September. Maybe I exaggerate a tad, but not much I am sure you will agree.

At any rate, in keeping with this "early" trend, I generally have the majority of my Christmas decorations made by now. In fact, in just a few weeks I will have to have boxes made, tagged and packed for delivery to Christmas at the Cabin, which will open for the season for the season during the Fall Festival of the Leaves in Bainbridege, Ohio. This small town lies between Chillicothe, Ohio and Hillsboro, Ohio on route 50, smack dab in the middle of not much, lol. It never ceases to amaze me each year the number of people that actually find this town and its two stop lights to celebrate fall and funnel cakes! But I digress. As the festival start date looms, I am left with the realization that I am further behind than I have ever been. Where did the summer go? It certainly wasn't full of beach days, sun and fun. In fact, I don't think it was warm enough to swim more than a day or two. Such weird weather this year, which could lead to many jumping off conversations, but I'll just ask, if summer wasn't really summer like, what will winter be like? No matter what it's like, I am sure that Christmas will still come on the 25 th of December and that I am behind in my decoration/ornament crafting. Sooooooooo that is what I will be doing for the next few weeks! Wreaths, ornaments, scrapbook pages, sleighs, cross-stitches, look out, here I come!

Tis the Season

Tis past the season for my computer to be fixed, yet it still sits on a shelf somewhere. I certainly hope that Santa has an elf or two to see his way to clear to put a computer fix on my horizon, but til then, I am having to list the Neat-O shops all together again. I am sooooooooo sorry, but the new year will bring new posts, I am determined!!!!!!!!!

Til then, Merry Christmas or merry whatever you celebrate, but for me and my house, we are celebrating the birth of our Lord! I hope that all of you and yours have a blessed season and remember the reason for that season! While giving of yourself is certainly not limited to one day or even one month, this is the time to remember why we do what we do, and to consider whom we are doing it all for. So peace, love and joy to you all! I also wish happiness and health to everyone for the coming new year!

Due to Christmas, there will only be 4 days of promoting this week, here are those companies; Monday- www.bluetricycle.etsy.com Tuesday- www.pearlsquiltedcrafts.etsy.com Saturday- www.npsunshine.etsy.com Sunday- www.bythewayside.etsy.com

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas all Across the Globe!

I am pausing from the LONG list of Essential oils to discuss Christmas! Lol, It may be a sunny 70 degrees where you are at today, as it is here in Ohio since we are enjoying one of the last days of Indian Summer, but it is nearly the end of the Christmas shopping season for overseas buyers. Yes, you may not be aware, but most foreign buyers will need to purchase their holiday gifts within the next eight to ten days to be assured that they will arrive in time, and that they will have the time to wrap and relax before the big day. The internet has made global marketing an easy reality, yet few us us really take the time to figure out what that really means! For instance, what did you do over Labor Day weekend? Labor Day is celebrated nationally on a Monday every year. I bet that you were at a social gathering of some type on that Monday, or cuddled up on the sofa watching television. No matter how you celebrated it, I would wager that your handmade business was far from your mind that day. That in itself is no problem, but did your overseas customers even KNOW that it was a holiday for you? For that matter, do YOU know what their holidays are? To avoid confusion and hard feelings about shipping dates or a lack of response from emails, you really should post any holiday interruptions in your shop announcements. Never assume that everyone knows that the USA celebrates July 4th as a holiday. While Christmas is an International holiday, you still have to remember that it takes time to ship to other countries. To further complicate issues, customs may hold packages for inspection which will delaying your shipment. Soooooooooooo, as I previously stated, it is almost time for the International shipping of Christmas items to be over! You were probably just getting ready for Thanksgiving, and in your shop you have probably just begun to add Christmas items, but really the season is almost over!\ If you were not aware of this, hurry and post your Christmas and gift set items now. Don't forget either that half the world has Christmas in the summer, while we are burried deep in the snow. Also, you may want to mention International shipping dates in your shop announcements. At the very least, be aware of the times frames needed. Most foreign buyers are more aware of shipping dealines than we are, so they likely already have their personal deadlines in mind. This does not, however, excuse our own ignorance. We need to know that most items shipped to Canada take 10 days, but when held by customs can be a month, if not more.